Innocent
by Parmawen
Summary: Luke, an innocent.  Based upon Taylor Swift's song of the same name.


I guess you really did it this time

Left yourself in your warpath

**Mortal legs, dressed in grey pants. A white t shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missed—a clean black hole about the size of a bullet wound, right where his heart should've been. His eyes were closed. His skin was pale. Blonde hair….and a scar running along the left side of his face. **

** The body in the coffin was Luke's. **

Lost your balance on a tightrope

Lost your mind tryin' to get it back

**We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the **_**Princess Andromeda**_** had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.**

Wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days?

Always a bigger bed to crawl into

"**He was so young when he left," she said wistfully…. "He said he'd be back for lunch. And I waited. He likes peanut butter sandwiches and Kool-Aid. He'll be back for lunch very soon…."**

Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything

And everybody believed in you?

**Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You're part of **_**our **_**family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm **_**not**_** going to fail you like our families did us.**

It's alright, just wait and see

Your string of lights is still bright to me

"**I can't believe that Luke…" Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad.**

Oh, who you are is not where you've been.

You're still an innocent,

You're still an innocent.

**Hermes gazed up at the stars. "My dear cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you **_**can't **_**give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.**

Did some things you can't speak of

But at night you live it all again

**I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at the moment, he looked weary, angry, and not at all handsome. His blonde hair was grey in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.**

You wouldn't be shattered on the floor now

If only you would seen what you know now then

**He gripped my sleeve, and I could feel the heat of his skin like a fire. "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it…..Don't let it happen again."**

Wasn't it easier in your firefly-catchin' days?

When everything out of reach, someone bigger brought down to you

**Then I noticed the framed picture on the mantel, and I froze. It was exactly like Rachel's sketch—Luke around nine years old, with blonde hair and a big smile and two missing front teeth. The lack of a scar on his face made him look like a different person—carefree and happy.**

Wasn't it beautiful runnin' wild 'til you fell asleep

Before the monsters caught up to you?

"**A half-blood hideout." I looked at Annabeth in awe. "You **_**made**_** this place?"**

** "Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke."**

It's alright, just wait and see

Your string of lights is still bright to me

Who you are is not where you've been

You're still an innocent

It's okay, life is a tough crowd

32 and still growing up now

Who you are is not what you did

You're still an innocent

Time turns flames to embers

You'll have new Septembers

Every one of us has messed up too

"**Hubris isn't your fatal flaw."**

"**What is?"**

"**I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it…well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing.**

Lives change like the weather

I hope you remember

Today is never too late to be brand new

** The line from the great prophecy echoed in my head: **_**A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.**_** My whole world tipped upside down, and I gave the knife to Luke.**

It's alright, just wait and see

Your string of lights is still bright to me

"**You **_**want**_** him to be evil, is that it?" Annabeth yelled. "You didn't know him before, Percy. I did!"**

** "What is it with you?" I snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?**

Oh, who you are is not where you've been

You're still an innocent.

It's okay, life is a tough crowd

22, and still growin' up now

**Kronos loomed over Annabeth, his sword raised. **

**Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She croaked, "Family, Luke. You **_**promised."**_

Who you are is not what you did

You're still an innocent.

You're still an innocent.

**He stared at the knife in Annabeth's hand, the blood on her face. **_**"Promise."**_

** Then he gasped like he couldn't get enough air. "Annabeth…"**

** But it wasn't the Titan's voice. It was Luke's.**

Lost your balance on a tightrope.

It's never too late to get it back.

_**The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. **_**The hero was Luke. The cursed blade was the knife he'd given Annabeth long ago—cursed because Luke had broken his promise and betrayed his friends. By sacrificing himself, he had saved Olympus. In the end, I wasn't really the hero. **

** Luke was.**


End file.
